3 Star Admiral – Brad Robertson
Brad Robertson
On Saturday, the 4th of July, prior to our home game vs. the Las Vegas Renegades, the Washington Admirals will be inducting the newest 3 Star Admiral: former starting pitcher Brad Robertson. There will be a hot dog-eating contest for fans and players' families before the game, ceremonial coins celebrating Robertson's career (and especially his 1978 and 1980 seasons), and a fireworks ceremony after the game, in which Brad presses the button that gets things started. Below are some of the highlights of Robertson's biography.
1. Robertson is one of the few Admiral greats to be originally drafted by the team. The draft involved some controversy though. In 1972, the Admirals selected Robertson with their 10th round pick. Half an hour later, at the beginning of the 11th round, the San Antonio Aztecas announced Robertson as their 11th round selection, not realizing he was already off the board. (This story is not made up. Check out Robertson's personal page.) This (a) helped establish San Antonio's reputation for managerial incompetence, (b) added to the Admirals' myth of edging out other teams, given Robertson's later success, and (c) helped sour relations between Washington and San Antonio. Azteca fans are convinced that the Admirals consistently screw them over.
2. Robertson made his big league debut late in 1975, and pitched well as the Admirals coasted to the division title. Despite the 21-year-old's inexperience, the Admirals counted on him in a big way in the playoffs, and Robertson responded with a 2-1 record in 4 starts. It was enough to help the Admirals win the 1975 World title, the Admirals' second straight. Robertson also was a big playoff contributor during the 1977 and 1978 World Championship runs, going 3-0 in 3 starts each year. Like just about every Admiral, Robertson seemed to have a knack for playing well during crunch time. He won 3 World Championships over his career.
3. Robertson was at his peak in 1978, when he went 23-6 and 3.39, and also in 1980, when he went 20-7 and 2.59. Both years, he was edged out by teammate Gizmo Delgado in Bob Gibson Award voting. (The 1980 vote was especially controversial. Some Admiral officials acknowledge that Delgado won that award on reputation, and that Robertson was more deserving. This complaint doesn't get aired a lot though, for obvious political reasons.)
4. At his peak, Robertson was an 11 point pitcher with 6 different pitches and solid strikeout ability. He led the league in K's once and in K's/9 on another occasion. According to my system, an 11 point pitcher is a solid ace or an exceptional #2 pitcher. What was remarkable about the 1970s Admirals was that Robertson was their *third* starter, after ace Gizmo Delgado and #2 Forest Thomas. As good as Sherwood Johnston was on offense, the strength of the team, hands-down, was their starting pitching. That's a tradition the team has tried to keep to this day: the team strength of the 1992 Admirals is also their starting pitching, and their AL leading starters' ERA.
5. Like Forest Thomas, Robertson made exactly 2 All Star games in his life: 1978 and 1980. Unlike Thomas, the lack of adulation never really bothered him much. Robertson was well known for his no-nonsense, workman like approach to his job. He thinks that the spectacle Forest Thomas makes of himself is something of an embarrassment.
6. Gizmo Delgado and Forest Thomas are both especially known for their longevity. Robertson is not. After that excellent season which he posted as a 26-year-old in 1980, Robertson started to lose a step just about each year. Throughout the 1980s, he would win about 15 games a year for the Admirals, and post an ERA in the high 3.00s or low 4.00s. Not horrible, too be sure, but a far cry from competing for the Gibson award, as he had done earlier in his career. Robertson is one of those players whose career trajectory starts great in their early to mid 20s, is okay but not great in their late 20s and early 30s, and then is bad in their mid 30s.
7. The Admirals signed Robertson to a big 4 year, $14M contract after the 1986 season. Immediately, this loooked like a mistake, as Robertson struggled through the worst year of his career so far in 1987, going 10-18 and 4.92. In an effort to dump his salary, the Admirals traded him after the year to Omaha, in exchange for outfielder Roberto Elias (presently with Carolina) and pitching prospect Wayne Gary (making his major league debut with Memphis this year).
8. Robertson did not enjoy his time in Omaha. Not one bit. He struggled through a 7-13, and 5.32 year in 1988, then got demoted to the bullpen in 1989 where he posted a 4.32 ERA. His worst year, though, was 1990, when he went 3-8 with a 6.33 ERA while splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen. Even worse, Robertson quarreled with the new Wolverines' management. He thought they were a Mickey Mouse organization, and didn't hesitate to say as much. He thought the team was too enamored with youth and with trying to start things from scratch, which led them to undervalue their veterans. Even during a rebuilding period, Robertson would say, veterans have an important role to play. Rather than dealing with a disgruntled Robertson for another year, Omaha released him prior to 1991, eating the last year of that big salary the Admirals had signed him to.
9. After being released, Roberton harbored some hopes of catching on with another team -- maybe even the Admirals -- but it was not to be. Just getting used to retirement at this point, Robertson rarely travels or makes any baseball appearances. Instead, he spends much of his time in his brother's upholstery store back in his hometown of West Little River, Florida, and at his modest home. Most customers at that store have no idea they're dealing with a Washington Admirals' legend. Robertson prefers it that way.